Albany Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

The practice was last assessed in 2021 where the well-led key question was rated as good. The practice was assessed using our single assessment framework on 10 September 2024 and the clinical remote searches were completed by a GP Specialist Advisor on 9 September 2024. At this comprehensive assessment, we found that the practice had made improvements and the practice’s approach to managing risks was very proactive. Staff were clear on their responsibilities and knew who had oversight of each aspect of the service.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff we spoke to knew the direction of travel of the practice and what they planned to achieve. The vision, mission or goals of the practice were not stated on the practice website; however, staff told us that treating patients as number one with dignity in an open and honest way was the heart of what the practice provided. Keeping patients care centric in an effective and safe way was key to the services provided by the practice.

As part of a short presentation made by the practice during the site visit, it was revealed that the vision and values of the practice was to become a leading practice in Hounslow, providing exceptional, safe and responsive patient care through innovation, education and community engagement. The core values were patient centric care, excellence, integrity, collaboration and continuous improvement. This was summed up by the GP partners who said that patients and staff were treated like family. There were regular staff meetings with the minutes documented and shared with relevant personnel including the CQC assessment team. Complaints were dealt with in a timely manner according to policies and procedures and learning shared with the staff to improve service delivery.

The practice manager and the assistant practice manager worked full-time hours and between them provided managerial oversight of the practice whilst the GP partners provided clinical oversight. Staff we spoke to during the site visit said the management were very supportive of staff and available for any questions or support when they were needed.

Staff felt they could raise concerns and felt listened to by the management. Staff said they were kept informed of any changes by regular emails or during staff meetings and minutes were shared with all staff and those who were unable to attend such meetings. Most of the practice policies had been reviewed annually. There was a business continuity plan and staff knew what to do in the event of any situation that may require such actions to be taken.

At the last assessment in 2021, it was highlighted that the practice should enable staff to have access to a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian. At this assessment, the staff were aware that there is a freedom to speak up guardian, however, different names were mentioned that did not indicate that the staff were fully aware who the freedom to speak up guardian was. The names of the GP partners were mentioned as well as the practice manager and business manager as being the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian. Staff told us they could raise concerns with the practice manager and the GP partners.

The practice had a whistle-blowing policy and a freedom to speak up guardian. Staff had access to the policy via the practice’s shared drive.

Staff at the practice had flexible working arrangement and the wellbeing of staff was well managed by the management. Staff seemed happy to work at the practice and they were representative of the patient population registered at the practice (the patients could see staff that looked like them). There was zero tolerance for violence against staff and the notice was visible to everyone who comes to the practice reception.

The practice collected staff feedback and acted on them which showed the management is inclusive and listened to its staff. Staff were trained in equality, diversity and understood human rights. Policies were reviewed annually to continually improve service delivery and well-being of staff.

The practice had a range of staff with different levels of experience, and they understood their roles and responsibilities. They also understood how to carry out their duties to ensure the safety of both patients and the workforce. Supervisions and appraisals were carried out to ensure staff are competent and confident to carry out their roles.

The practice had an infection prevention and control lead, safeguarding adult lead, safeguarding children lead and a freedom to speak up guardian. Regular quality improvement audits were conducted by the practice and action plans followed within a specific time frame. There were processes in place to drive the improvement of risk management and accountability.

There was an active patient participation group (PPG) for this location. However, there were no set meeting days or time and there was need for a more structured approach to ensure effectiveness of this group.

There was collaboration between the practice and the local healthcare professionals including the commissioners and primary care network.

There were no concerns received about the practice from the commissioners.

The PPG informed us that the practice listened to them and were very involved in quality improvement at this location and parts of the suggestions given by the PPG were incorporated into the layout of the reception area.

Staff informed CQC that they were happy working at this practice and were well supported to be effective in their roles. We saw examples where staff were encouraged and supported to take on new roles and responsibilities in the practice. The leaders understood the vision, the current performance and areas that needed to be improved upon and set up action plans to ensure the improvement occurred in time specific manner.

Significant events and complaints were discussed in meetings. Staff were informed of any changes brought about by these events and complaints. This showed how such events and occurrences were used to promote improvement on patient safety and care. Some of the changes made included updating staff training on customer service relations and confidentiality. The practice was made a teaching practice in 2023 and had been training medical students who chose general practice as their speciality.